All three of Uncle Tom’s slave owners are similar in fact that they all put their own needs before others, but are all different in several ways. For example, Tom’s first master named Mr. Shelby who owns an estate in Kentucky. He’s a fair average man, good natured, and kind.
Slaves feel fortunate to be owned by Mr. Shelby, and especially to have his kind wife Mrs. Shelby. Mrs.
Shelby is extremely nice to slaves, very religious, and and eventually comes to believe that slavery is a grave sin. Mr. and Mrs. Shelby both cared for Tom greatly. Tom is a faithful, honest, respectful, and deeply religious man. Many slaves looked up to him for example, ” Uncle Tom was a sort of patriarch in religious matters, in the neighborhood, he was looked up to with great respect, as a sort of minister among them.” (Stowe 19).
Mr. and Mrs. Shelby both care about Tom greatly, and trust him. Due to his hard work and other of his great aspects his is one of the most valuable slaves on Mr. Shelby’s plantation. Tom was allowed to marry, and live with his wife named Aunt Chloe and his two children in a cabin on the plantation. Living in a cabin with his family was a big deal, because it symbolized a little bit of a normal life. Although Mr.
Shelby treats his slaves well, he is careless and selfish. Even a good slaver owner who treats his slaves humanely isn’t a part from owning slaves. Mr.
Shelby was willing to alter Tom’s life and separate him from his family in order to maintain his financial security. He breaks up slave families for his own gain just like any other slave owner. Mr. Shelby is careless with his money and gets into debt.
As a result to save his farm he must sell both Tom and Eliza’s four year old son named Harry. He did this after he promised not only to not sell tom, but the rest of the slaves he owns if they behave well also. Mr. Shelby had even talked to tom hundreds of times with Mrs. Shelby about his freedom.
Mr. Shelby is not willing to sacrifice his own pleasures for slaves. While on the other hand his wife is willing to go without luxuries to keep Tom and Harry. Mr.
Shelby considers himself better then Haley, and other slave owners, but he doesn’t full acknowledge the fact that by trading with Haley it implicates him in the entire slave trade system. Even after all this is happening to Tom he accepts his fate to save the other slaves. For they all would’ve had to be sold if he didn’t. In the end, Mr.
Shelby is not a terrible person; but sees slaves less than him. He’s a typical person who isn’t deliberately criuel to his slaves, but us also not willing to sacrifice anything.
